Paul Henry suspended - TVNZ statement

5 October 2010

Paul Henry Suspended

TVNZ has today suspended Breakfast host Paul Henry.

TVNZ CEO Rick Ellis said that Mr Henry's recent remarks about Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand were inappropriate for anyone in the company to make.

"I have met with Paul and told him that while his apologies were the right thing to do and that I believe he is sincere in his regret, I still consider his remarks unacceptable for any employee of TVNZ to make.

"TVNZ is a multi-cultural company that is representative of modern New Zealand's rich ethnic diversity.

"We give Paul a lot of freedom with the Breakfast programme and he does a magnificent job. But as we have said before, with that freedom comes responsibility.

"Paul is one of New Zealand's best broadcasters. He is a provocative host who speaks his mind and that is what many New Zealanders like about him. He often pushes the boundaries and that's important in a country that values freedom of speech. But I consider his latest remarks to have well and truly crossed that line.

"As Editor-In-Chief I have today suspended Paul without pay effective immediately. He will return on air on Monday 18 October.

"When Sir Anand returns from the Commonwealth Games I will be personally apologising to him."


Megan Richards
TVNZ Corporate Affairs